Chairman, Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School
George Jacob and Jacqueline Hazel Leder Professor of Genetics
Dr. Cliff Tabin is
Chair of the Department Genetics at Harvard Medical School, and a pioneer
developmental biologist.
The common theme of Dr.
Tabin's research investigations has been an attempt to understand “pattern
formation", how the organization of an embryo arises during its development.
His efforts are responsible for our current understanding of such embryological
questions as why the leg is different in form from the arm, and why the heart
is on the left and not the right, as well as evolutionary questions such as
understanding the genetic basis for the differences in the shapes of the beaks
of different species of Darwin's Finches in the Galapagos Islands.
In addition to his
research program, Dr. Tabin has had a major involvement in education efforts at
Harvard Medical School, teaching embryology and genetics to both the medical
students and the graduate students. He has also played a leadership role
in recent wide-ranging medical education reform at Harvard. Additionally,
Dr. Tabin has utilized his expertise in this area to assist the development of
a new medical school in Nepal.
Dr. Tabin was elected a
member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2007. Among his many honors, he
received the National Academy of Sciences Award in 1999; the March of Dimes
Prize in Developmental Biology in 2008; elected to the European Molecular
Biology Organization in 2010; received the Conklin Medal from the Society for
Developmental Biology in 2012, received a ScD honoris causa degree from Union
College, Schenectady, New York; asked to present the Harvey Lecture in 2012,
and was elected Foreign Member of the Royal Society of London in 2014.
Dr. Tabin completed his
graduate studies in Biology at MIT in 1984, studying oncogenes with Bob
Weinberg. He has been on the faculty in the HMS Department of Genetics
since 1989. He has been a Full Professor since 1997 and was appointed
Chairman of the Department in January 2007.
Chairman, Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School
George Jacob and Jacqueline Hazel Leder Professor of Genetics
Dr. Cliff Tabin is
Chair of the Department Genetics at Harvard Medical School, and a pioneer
developmental biologist.
The common theme of Dr.
Tabin's research investigations has been an attempt to understand “pattern
formation", how the organization of an embryo arises during its development.
His efforts are responsible for our current understanding of such embryological
questions as why the leg is different in form from the arm, and why the heart
is on the left and not the right, as well as evolutionary questions such as
understanding the genetic basis for the differences in the shapes of the beaks
of different species of Darwin's Finches in the Galapagos Islands.
In addition to his
research program, Dr. Tabin has had a major involvement in education efforts at
Harvard Medical School, teaching embryology and genetics to both the medical
students and the graduate students. He has also played a leadership role
in recent wide-ranging medical education reform at Harvard. Additionally,
Dr. Tabin has utilized his expertise in this area to assist the development of
a new medical school in Nepal.
Dr. Tabin was elected a
member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2007. Among his many honors, he
received the National Academy of Sciences Award in 1999; the March of Dimes
Prize in Developmental Biology in 2008; elected to the European Molecular
Biology Organization in 2010; received the Conklin Medal from the Society for
Developmental Biology in 2012, received a ScD honoris causa degree from Union
College, Schenectady, New York; asked to present the Harvey Lecture in 2012,
and was elected Foreign Member of the Royal Society of London in 2014.
Dr. Tabin completed his
graduate studies in Biology at MIT in 1984, studying oncogenes with Bob
Weinberg. He has been on the faculty in the HMS Department of Genetics
since 1989. He has been a Full Professor since 1997 and was appointed
Chairman of the Department in January 2007.
Journal article
Heterochrony, or the alteration of developmental timing, is an important mechanism of evolutionary change. Avian species display synchronized growth of the forelimbs and hindlimbs, while mammalian species show delayed hindlimb development. We find that mammalian limb heterochrony is evident from the start of limb bud formation and is associated with heterochronic expression of T-box transcription factors. This heterochronic shift is not due to changes in cis-regulatory sequences controlling...
Journal article
The transformation of a two-dimensional epithelial sheet into various three-dimensional structures is a critical process in generating the diversity of animal forms. Previous studies of epithelial folding have revealed diverse mechanisms driven by epithelium-intrinsic or -extrinsic forces. Yet little is known about the biomechanical basis of epithelial splitting, which involves extreme folding and eventually a topological transition breaking the epithelial tube. Here, we leverage...